Something Happens
by AmarieN
Summary: Rory just wanted a night alone to do laundry, with her mother gone that had been the plan. She hadn't counted on Paris to show up needing to study. She hadn't expected Jess to show up with food. But what would have happened if Paris left before Dean showed up with ice cream. One small moment could affect her entire life. Follow Rory from that fateful dinner to the end of it all.
1. The Start of it All

**Author's Note:** So this is a Gilmore Girls based story. It's a Jess/Rory story and plays very similar to the real deal. Especially this first chapter will practically be the exact same besides my own descriptions. There will be one small change in the plot in a coming chapter that will shift how things turn out for our youngest Gilmore Girl. The small change may not be enough to shift everything, in fact I think it will be very easy to follow the story line compared to the show. A lot of the dialogue comes directly from the TV show, so I can not be given credit for that.

I don't own Gilmore Girls, the characters, their dialogue... I just came up with a story idea.

* * *

"Impossible." Paris said in a defeated tone.

Rory closed the Chilton binder with a smile knowing that Paris would do fine on the quiz. Over the last hour they had done nothing but study and Paris had gotten every answer correct. She had quoted the textbook almost word for word. Rory's head shot up quickly as the doorbell rang through the house. She threw her legs over the edge of the couch and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Paris questioned.

Rory could already tell Paris was going to beg for more time. The blonde could hardly be called a woman of her word when it came to limiting study time.

"That's my food." Rory explained.

She made her way around the couch not bothering to look back at Paris. Quickly, but not quickly enough in her opinion, she made her way out of the living room and into the small entry way.

"Another half hour, please." Pairs begged.

The blonde was terrified of another A-. Rory could only roll her eyes as she walked further away from Paris, yelling back her responses without actually acknowledging the other girl.

"No, you got your hour. You need go."

Rory was annoyed. Her perfectly thought through night was already ruined and her food had taken far too long. She was crabby and hungry which was never a good combination for a Gilmore girl. She was almost to the door when Paris spoke again.

"But,"

"Go." Rory attempted to sound as pleasant as possible.

"Fine." The blonde snapped.

She grabbed the door, opening it with the expectation of seeing her Indian food. Rory stumbled back a step when she locked eyes with Jess. It felt like someone had knocked the wind out of her. There he was in his blue jean jacket, the collar popped but still showing the fur lining. His hair was up and gelled like always, but he had a smile on his face which she had not grown accustomed to seeing. In his hands was a small box. The top was cut off but there were bags and trays piling up.

"Delivery." He said raising his eyebrows just slightly.

"What are you doing here?" she stumbled out, the words feeling difficult to form.

"Well Luke figured since your alone tonight that maybe you wouldn't have any food in the house so he sent over a care package." Jess said in a nonchalant way just shrugging as she looked at him.

"I don't need a care package. I ordered food from Sandeeps."

She wasn't sure what to say. There he was standing on her porch with enough food to feed a small army just smiling at her in a way he wouldn't smile at anyone else. She knew she shouldn't invite him in, she shouldn't even take the food but there was something about the way he was smiling.

"Really, planning on burning down the house afterwards?"

She almost wanted to laugh. She couldn't help but wonder how he would feel knowing he thought the same thing as her mother.

"Jess."

"Only way to kill the smell. Where should I put this?" he asked moving the box as if she didn't know what he was talking about.

"Well-"

"Kitchen?"

He didn't wait for a response before he turned his body and passed through the doorway. She knew she wouldn't have been able to stop him. But part of her was scared of the fact that she didn't _want_ to stop him.

"Um," She said closing the door after he pushed past her, "sure."

She followed him into her kitchen and watched as he began unpacking some of the food. It took up the entire circle table. And while the Gilmore household didn't have a profusely large table it was still a feat to cover it in food.

"God how much food is in there? This could feed twelve."

"Excuse me, I've seen you eat." Jess laughed.

"Fine, six." She said smiling back at him as she played into his joke.

"Yeah well, he wanted you taken care of. He wasn't sure how long your mom was gonna be gone for." Jess said as he took out some of the last covered trays.

"Just tonight." Rory stated simply.

"Huh, he didn't know that."

"Well now you can tell him." Rory said tapping at the table awkwardly.

"I will."

Jess pulled open the first bag emptying the contents of it all onto the little free space left on the kitchen table. He didn't say anything more. Rory just stared at him silently watching as he unpacked enough food to keep her happy for a week. She never knew how to react to Jess, he never seemed to fully open up or explain what was going through his head.

"So, how come Caesar didn't bring this over?" Rory asked breaking the silence.

"I volunteered."

He had been quiet, almost as if he didn't want to tell her the truth. Rory felt stunned for a moment. She recovered quickly but couldn't help the initial feeling of panic realizing he may have come over just to see her. She tucked her hair behind her ear realizing she didn't look her best that evening. She had just thrown on what clothes were near by when Paris had stormed into her house begging for study time. Though Rory had a moment of being glad Paris had come, realizing that she still would have been in her pajamas otherwise.

"Why?" she asked meekly wondering if the answer was what she suspected.

"Just wanted to get out of the construction zone. There's nothing but banging and yelling. Place gives me a headache."

She felt disappointed. She knew she shouldn't but she had hoped, if only for an instant that he had come to check up on her. She knew how ridiculous the hope was. Jess was barely friends with her, he didn't care about anything in Star's Hallow and she realized there was no way he would just check up on her, but she had hoped.

"Oh." The word barely came out. She wasn't even sure if he heard her.

"Why, did you think I wanted to come over here and see you?"

His eyes shot up from the food and connected with hers. She couldn't interpret the look. He was either teasing her for clearly thinking he wanted to come over or he was trying to figure out what she was thinking. Silently she cursed him for being so good at hiding his thoughts from her.

"No." she lied.

"I just needed some quiet." He explained.

"Fine." She snapped, harsher than she had intended.

"That is all."

"Got it."

"Clear my head."

"I understand."

Silence fell over them again, this time slightly more awkward than the last. Rory knew she shouldn't have snapped at him and she hadn't even meant to. The night was not going how she planned and she wasn't handling it well. She wanted to go back to the beginning, doing laundry and just sitting around in her pajamas folding her clean clothes.

She wasn't aware of how long she had been standing there just staring into space. Jess noticed though. He caught her eyes staring blankly at his tee shirt. He wondered if he should tease her for it, but the emptiness in her eyes told him she had no clue what she was doing.

"So aren't you going to eat?" he asked breaking her from her staring spell.

"Eventually." She answered shortly.

"It gets cold fast." He teased.

"I can heat it up." She fought back.

"Reheated French Fries really suck."

She felt defeated again. He was right of course. No person she knew ever reheated French Fries just because they never tasted as good after they got cold. She couldn't even attempt to argue with him.

"They do suck."

"Yeah, so eat." He almost laughed.

"Okay I will." She said without making any movements. She just watched as he stared back at her. "You're still standing there."

"I know you didn't give me a tip." He was being sarcastic but she hadn't quite caught it.

"You want money?" she asked in disbelief. She hadn't even asked for the food he had brought.

"No, take a fry though."

She wasn't sure what to do. It seemed like a fair trade. Part of her wondered if he would just take one and leave. She knew that would be for the best, that was what she should want to happen from the situation.

But she couldn't fight the growing feeling of wanting him to stay.

"Okay yeah, have as much as you want." She said gesturing to the food.

"Okay great."

Jess turned towards the kitchen counter slowly pulling his jacket from his body. Rory just watched for a moment as he revealed the blue button up that he was wearing. Rory appreciated Jess's style when he wasn't wearing gross band tee shirts. He looked good with the sleeves rolled up just enough to show his forearms.

"What are you doing?" she asked slightly confused.

"Getting ready to eat."

"You're staying?"

"Didn't you just invite me?" he wasn't really questioning for permission.

"No, I-" she tried to say before he interrupted.

"You told me to have all I wanted, that sounds invitation-like." He said as he leaned against her kitchen counter just giving her a slight smirk.

"You want to stay here and eat?" she asked trying to get a grip on the situation.

"Beats being at Luke's." he shrugged.

"But-"

Rory wasn't even sure what she wanted to say. She didn't want him to leave either. She would be happy to have him to talk to for a while without someone from town staring at them like they had committed a crime. But she knew having dinner with him wasn't a smart idea. Her mom wouldn't be coming home anytime soon, she was trying to get Paris out of the house, and she hadn't even allowed Dean to come over. Having Jess stay alone with her in the house would be trouble.

"I can't find my flashcards." Paris said as she walked into the room.

The blonde felt uncomfortable as she walked in on the pair. They were facing each other and standing just too close to be a normal conversation. There was clearly something between them and she didn't want to be the one to ruin it.

"Didn't know you had company." Jess said looking up at Paris.

"This is Paris, we were just studying." Rory said gesturing to the blonde as she looked away from Jess.

"Huh." Jess grunted trying to assess the situation.

"Don't worry I was just leaving. If you find my flashcards call me okay?" Paris moved to leave the room as quickly as possible.

"No." Rory stopped her.

"What?" the blonde asked confused.

"Stay for dinner."

Rory wasn't sure what possessed her to ask. She and Paris could barely get along. Jess wasn't good at stringing more than two words together. And she was trying to throw them all into a dinner. All she had been thinking was that being alone with Jess had the potential of being dangerous.

"I thought-"

"We have a ton of food and we can go over the notes more later." Rory explained trying to make the situation seem normal and like the had no other reason for inviting Paris along.

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

She only felt positive of the fact that she and Jess could not be alone together but there was plenty of food. She needed a buffer, someone to stop her from talking to Jess till she fell asleep at the kitchen table or to prevent her from just staring at him the entire night through.

"Is that mac and cheese?" Paris questioned.

"Sure is." Rory said cheerfully thinking Paris might agree to stay.

"I love mac and cheese."

"Great."

"I'm not allowed to have mac and cheese."

"Splurge." Rory said trying to get her to stop the verbal back and forth and just agree to stay, "come on Paris stay."

"Do you have a 24 hour pharmacy just in case I have an allergic reaction to something?" Paris asked always thinking ahead.

"Believe it or not we do." Rory said anticipating a small town joke from the blonde.

"Okay, can I borrow your phone?"

"It's by the door." Rory said gesturing towards the table the phone sat on.

Paris smiled walking away from the two. Rory just took a deep breath in knowing she had done the right thing. Short of kicking Jess out she needed to do something to prevent a horrible backlash from occurring. She could feel Jess turn back and look at her as she tried to focus on Paris calling home.

"Interesting." Jess pondered out loud.

"What is?"

Rory turned back to face him, realizing for the first time how close they were to each other. She could see small freckles on his nose. Nothing anyone else in town would ever see but as she looked at him she could tell there was a faint spotting of freckles just over the bridge of his nose.

"Think we need a chaperone?" he asked almost sounding bitter.

"No I don't." she tried to sound innocent, tried not to admit that she needed to have someone else with them.

"You just invited one."

"Just being polite. Paris is alone tonight and you yourself just said we have enough food for six."

Rory wasn't even sure if that was true. Paris tended to spend evenings with her nanny, she might have had plans. Sure it was nothing Rory would consider something to miss out on but then again she had planned on spending the evening doing laundry.

"With me around it's down to four." Jess stated as if he was trying to get her to uninvite Paris.

"With Paris around it's down to two."

"Works out well." think sarcasm rang through his voice.

He wasn't being sincere Rory could tell but she wasn't about to interrupt Paris and send her packing. She needed a buffer and Jess was going to have to deal with it.

"I think so." She said with a small smile.

They both turned and watched as Paris excitedly explained in Spanish to her nanny about being at Rory's and how she was going to have mac and cheese. Rory smiled shaking her head at how such a small thing could absolutely make Paris's night.

Rory looked over from Paris to Jess. He wasn't looking at her and it gave her a moment to really observe him. She had looked at him plenty in the past, in fact she had looked at him a little too much. But there was something about standing in her kitchen knowing that her mother was far away that made her stomach twist into knots. She didn't know for sure, but she felt like she was in for a long night.


	2. Goodbye, Hello

**Author's Note: **So here is the next chapter. It will continue with the night-alone-gone-wrong. After this there is one more chapter from that fateful night then the chapters should pick up, following the series a little more quickly. I'm not going to promise that all chapters will be the same length either. There may be a few that are pretty short, or some that are fairly long. It will just depend on where the story can be broken. Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I wanted to remind everyone that I do not own Gilmore Girls, nor its original dialogue or characters.

* * *

"A tragic waste of paper." Paris said in a tone that said she would not be swayed.

"I can't believe you just said that." Jess was stunned.

"Well it's true. The Beat's writing was completely self indulgent. I have one word for Jack Kerouac -edit."

Rory almost wanted to laugh. The three of them had been going back and forth for quite some time. Most of the food was gone, despite there being far too much for just three people, and they hadn't stopped talking since Paris had sat down at the table.

Rory had to admit she was impressed. It seemed like she wasn't the only person Jess could be nice to. Not that she had truly believed he was incapable of being kind to another person but it just seemed like an odd occurrence for his civility to go towards Paris, someone who could rarely put two kind words together.

She couldn't help but wonder if Jess just assumed everyone in Star's Hallow was an idiot and that's why he never bothered to speak with them. Paris had clearly proven during their conversation that she was intelligent and had plenty of opinions and Jess seemed to be eating it up. He and Rory were always debating about books, but Paris brought a new intensity to the conversation.

"It was not self indulgent. The Beat's believed in shocking people. stirring things up." Jess combated.

"They believed in drugs, booze, and petty crime." Paris said rolling her eyes.

"Well then you can say they exposed you to a world you wouldn't have otherwise known. Isn't that what great writing is all about?"

Rory wondered for a moment if Paris would consider her argument. Jess seemed pleased that she was agreeing with him, if not in facts than just in the mere fact of arguing with Paris.

"That was not great writing that was the National Inquirer of the 50s." Paris said, dismissing Rory altogether.

"You're cracked."

"Typical guy response worship Kerouac and Bukowski. God forbid you pick up anything by Jane Austin."

"Hey I've read Jane Austin."

"You have?" Paris was surprised.

Rory couldn't help but feel a little proud. She knew she had nothing to do with Jess reading Jane Austin but it was refreshing to have a boy who had such a wide range of tastes in literature. She knew Paris would be impressed that the small town girl had managed to find a boy willing to read Jane Austin. Not that Rory cared about impressing Paris, but her continued approval would make school easier.

"Yeah and I think she would have liked Bukowski."

Jess joked managing to get a smile even from Paris. He grabbed the salt and pepper containers he had brought with the food, assuming the Gilmore house would be completely empty. Paris stared at him wide eyed as he dumped salt and pepper onto a small plate and dipped his fry in it.

"What are you doing?"

"Salt and pepper dip. Only way to eat a fry."

"Really?" the blonde asked unhappy with how much the dark haired boy had surprised her that night.

"It's fast food gospel." Rory explained.

Rory smiled dipping a fry of her own in Jess's plate and biting into it. The phone rang not even a second later and she jumped up to answer it. She could hear them still talking behind her and she moved closer to the ringing.

"Oh that's good. That's really, really good." Paris said after trying the dip.

"You like hot sauce?" Jess asked.

"I don't know. Should I?"

"I think it's wise." He said pouring a small amount of hot sauce he had brought over onto a plate for her to try.

Rory moved from the kitchen into the living room with the phone pressed to her ear. She still had a smile on her face as she spoke up.

"Hello?"

"Hey." And suddenly the smile went away. She could hear Dean's voice on the other line and felt guilt wash over her quickly.

"Oh, hey where are you?" she asked trying to sound casual and trying to push the thought of Jess from her mind.

"On my way to see you if that's okay."

She paused for a second. She knew Dean couldn't come over with Jess in the house but she also knew Dean would never say no. If he had it in his mind that he was going to see her she was positive he would.

"Oh well…"

"I know you want to be alone so ill only stay a minute. I just wanna say hi." She could hear him smiling over the phone.

"We just said hi." She attempted, knowing he wouldn't take her bait and go back home.

"Well I want to say hi a little closer."

She knew what he meant, he wanted to come over for a minute then try to make out and convenience her to let him stay. Whether or not he had anything further on his mind she wasn't sure of, although their conversation earlier in the day made her think he was going to try and get farther than just a few small kisses.

It wasn't something that should bother her. The idea of going further with her boyfriend. But she just couldn't picture it. When she imagined doing anything more than kissing Dean an awkward image popped into her mind of how tall he was and she suddenly felt like a little kid. She felt awkward at the idea of it.

"I'm a mess really it's not pretty. You won't recognize me." She tried to lie, though she had thought earlier that she didn't look nice enough when Jess had arrived at her door.

"Well then put a name tag on cause I miss you." He joked.

Rory wasn't sure what to say. They had seen each other only hours before. She didn't even miss her mom yet and they were best friends. She wasn't sure how to handle always needing to be with someone. She was sure that was how most boyfriends and girlfriends felt about each other but sometimes she just wanted a night away.

"I miss you too, but-" she lied.

"But what." He sounded annoyed.

"Paris is here."

She thought it was close enough to the truth that she might get away with it. If she could convince him not to come over then it wouldn't be a lie. She hadn't said only Paris was there, just that she was which was one hundred percent true.

"Why?" he sounded angry.

"She freaked out about a grade and wanted to go over some notes and you know Paris she will not be denied."

Rory tried to make it sound like a joke, but serious enough that he might think Paris was in a crazed mood. She hated lying, hated that she felt like she couldn't tell him the truth, but mostly she hated that she didn't want him to come over because she was having more fun debating with Jess.

"Okay then I'm not really ruining your alone night, someone else did that."

It was like he was trying to come up with any excuse to get her to agree to spend time with him. She knew what would happen if Dean came over. They would watch TV, make out, he may try to go further she'd say no they'd go back to watching TV and then he would leave. He wouldn't stop by only for a minute to say hi. With Paris there he'd think she didn't need to have time alone anyway, whether or not Paris left them alone.

"Yes but-"

"I'll see you in a sec." he said hanging up the phone.

Rory slammed the phone down on the small table. She didn't want to kick Jess out but she knew it was her only option. She needed Jess out and Paris to get into study position before Dean showed up at her door. It was the only way she could keep up the lie she had created.

"I can't get into poetry its kind like geez just say it already I'm dying over here." Jess was saying as she walked into the kitchen.

If Dean hadn't called she would've agreed. She would have started a debate two against Paris about how poetry tended to drag on. But she knew it wasn't the time for that. She needed to stop all conversation and get Jess moving.

"Wow I just noticed the time and its getting really late."

It wasn't even a subtle statement. It wasn't late at all, and she hadn't even managed to sneak it casually into conversation.

"It's seven o'clock." Jess stated as if she needed to get a new watch.

"Is it already?" Paris asked as if her ears had shot up from the sound of the time.

Rory only nodded, walking over to Jess's coat and picking it up for him. She tried to hand it over but he wasn't taking it.

"I need to get going. Nanny told me to be home by seven thirty, I'll barely make it if there's any traffic."

"No!" Rory shouted, she needed Paris to stay and needed Jess to leave. Dean would be confused if he showed up and Paris wasn't there. "I just mean there won't be any traffic, you don't have to rush."

But it was too late. Paris had practically leapt from the table and had grabbed her bag, which she had organized earlier when she thought she was leaving before dinner.

"If you find my flashcards call me. Have a good night!"

Rory wasn't sure what to do. Paris had made up her mind and was practically out the door. It was useless to try and stop her. As the door swung closed behind the blonde Rory knew he only chance now was to get Jess out of the house before Dean made his way over. He had said he'd see her in a second which meant he had to be close.

"Listen please thank Luke for me it was really nice of him."

Rory practically shoved the coat into Jess's hands as she stared at him begging for him to stand from the chair.

"Who was that on the phone?" he asked his voice quiet because he already knew the answer.

"No one." Rory lied.

"No one wouldn't happen to be on his way over here right now would he?"

He didn't like being kicked out, didn't like that the only person he could stand in the town was too afraid of her boyfriend to stick up for him. He didn't like that the only other person besides Rory that seemed half way decent didn't even live near him. It was suddenly far too clear how unfair life was.

"Jess." Rory said feeling bad.

"Dean's on his way over and you don't want him to find me here."

"You know why, though. You know it'd be bad." Rory wasn't sure what she was feeling guilt over at the moment, whether it was hiding things from Dean or kicking Jess out despite the fact that she wanted to continue spending time with him.

"We're just eating dinner." Jess said as if that would make anything alright.

"Jess I'm asking you as a friend just please leave now." She begged, knowing there was no way around it.

"You really want me to go?" he asked genuinely.

"I really want to avoid a fight with Dean."

She knew she couldn't lie to Jess. She couldn't look him in the eye and say 'yes I want you out.' But telling a half truth was as good as she could get and have him still leave. If it was up to her Dean wouldn't come over and they would be able to discuss books for the rest of the night, but that just wasn't an option.

"Okay I'm going." He relented, proving to her again that he cared about her and her feelings.

"Thank you."

It felt lame to say, but most things did when she was talking to Jess. She never knew what to say or how to handle things. She just knew that he always would do what she needed him to do.

Slowly he stood up, holding his coat in his hand and turning toward the entryway of the house. He grabbed at his leg, an incredibly fake look of pain splashed over his face.

"Ow, oh."

"What?" she asked actually concerned for a moment.

"I just twisted my ankle, I better go lay down."

She could even pretend not to find it funny. Truth be told if she hid him away in some room Dean might never know Jess was there. But she couldn't do that to Jess. Hide him somewhere and make him wait through God knows what Dead had in mind till God knows when. It wouldn't be fair to keep Jess waiting around. She knew he had to go.

Pushing him so he was walking backwards from the kitchen and through the entryway she just smiled slightly and he smirked at he with a playful look in his eye.

"Jess." She groaned, knowing it was slightly painful for them both for him to leave.

"God you're no fun when you're tense. You sure you want me to go cause maybe this whole thing could be solved between me and Dean if we just sat down and had a heart to heart. He'll tell me his issues, I'll tell him mine."

She pushed him against the door and he did his best to hide the doorknob from her. She knew he didn't want to go just as much as she wanted him to stay but it wasn't a possibility.

"Jess ." she said in a breathy voice, her hands still pressed against his chest.

If it had been any other time it might have been a moment between them, but she reached around his back attempting to open the door. Not letting the possibility of a moment overtake her desire to get Jess out before Dean arrived.

"I promise ill speak slowly." He offered, ignoring her half hearted glare at his dig.

"Bye." She joked as she finally pried the door open.

She pushed her hands against his chest again, leading him out of the doorway and onto the porch with a smile on her face. She loved how easy it was to joke with him.

"Okay well give him my best would ya?" he joked until he turned around and saw Dean glaring up at him. "Actually I guess I could do that myself."

It was the worst situation she could think of. Her hands were still pressed against Jess' chest and Dean was staring at the two of them like he might kill someone at any moment. The small bag he had in his hand had almost slipped from his grip as Dean's eyes glazed over, in what Rory could only assume was rage.

Yeah things couldn't get any worse...

* * *

**A.N.** So what will happen now? Only Jess and Rory in the house and now Dean is here to witness it. Things have just gotten a lot more complicated.


	3. Something There

**Author's Note: **So here is chapter 3! I just want to say thank you to everyone who has followed or favorite this story. Also all my reviewers, it really does help keep me motivated to continue writing when I know someone is excited about the story. I hope you enjoy how the night unfolds for Rory!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gilmore Girls, the dialogue taken directly from the show, or the characters. I only own the plot idea of changing small aspects and seeing how they effect things in the long run.

* * *

Rory stood silently looking back and forth between the two boys. She had known something like this would happen. All she wanted was to have a quiet evening alone to do laundry and now her whole night had turned into a soap opera. The look on Dean's face said it all, anger. Pure anger.

She didn't know how she would explain herself. Dean always came the back way to the house so he wouldn't have seen Paris' car leaving. She had no proof that she hadn't been alone with Jess, and she could tell that was what Dean was thinking.

"Dean..." she didn't know what to say, she was caught, "Jess was just leaving."

"Couldn't get out of here quick enough, really." Jess said with a sarcastic tone that Rory knew wouldn't help the situation.

She glared towards Jess wanting him to realize how difficult he was making things on her. He gave her a half smile as if it would make up for putting her in such a difficult position. The truth was the only way out of it, she knew that. Lying would only create problems but Dean was sensible, he would understand. He'd be pissed as hell but he'd come to forgive her.

"Dean, Jess is only dropping off food."

"From Luke's." Jess added.

Rory looked over at him, wanting to convey that she didn't need his help... But he had made a good point. Luke had sent the food over so really Jess was just a middle man.

"He wanted to make sure I ate."

"Luke did." Jess said knowing it would be bad for Rory if Dean thought he cared about her well being.

"Yeah Luke did." She added in a dumb tone that didn't suit her.

"Personally I could care less if she eats." Wording it carefully, knowing yes he _could_ care less because in fact he cared quite a bit that she ate.

"Yeah that's true he could care less." Rory repeated not catching what he had truly been saying.

"I see you brought a little something too" Jess teased seeing the small bag in Dean's hand, "is that ice cream? That's so nice a tiny little ice cream package just big enough for-"

"Jess, shut up." Rory pleaded. "Dean it's really nothing, and I was telling him to get out right as you showed up. God, Jess, will you please just leave."

Everything had gotten to complicated. Only minutes ago she had been happily talking with Paris and Jess about books. Everything had seemed perfect. But of course anytime something was perfect somehow it would have to get ruined. Paris had even been half way polite, she seemed to get along with Jess well enough. For a moment Rory had thought he'd be able to hang around and be mature.

Jess watched as Dean took only a few steps and made his way onto the porch. He wasn't speaking but his silence and stare said enough for Jess to understand. "You're doing that tower over me thing. Huh, I tell you you've really got that down. It helps that your 12 feet tall but this Frankenstein scowl really adds to the whole-"

He knew he shouldn't push the issue. He knew Rory was about to get into some serious trouble with her boyfriend but he couldn't help it. Dean was almost like a caveman, possessive and quick to react. He didn't think things through and easily took all of Jess's bait.

"Jess." Rory said in a small voice.

"Okay I'm going." He said with a small smile in spite of himself. He made his way off the porch turning back to face Dean not able to resist getting in one last jab. "Listen man I really was just dropping off some food so don't get all West Side Story on me, okay?"

He was practically positive Dean wouldn't even understand the reference. Sure the giant probably had seen West Side Story just because Rory had made him but Jess doubted he was cultured enough to understand. He turned around the side of the house knowing he should go back home. But he couldn't bring himself to leave Rory alone to deal with the jerk's anger. Maybe, had Paris still been there he would have headed back to the diner. But instead he found himself making his way around to the back porch of the Gilmore house.

"So," Rory said awkwardly looking at Dean. She didn't even get the chance to say anything before he pushed past her and walked into her house. "You have to believe he really did come by because of food. I had no idea he was going to show up."

They made it to the kitchen before Dean said anything. She was surprised he even waited for the front door to close. She knew it looked bad, not only was Jess at the house but they had been very playful right in front of Dean. And she had waited to stop Jess's verbal attack, which she couldn't even explain to herself.

"What the hell is going on?" Dean yelled.

He had stormed into the kitchen as if in a blind fury. Rory looked at the table knowing that it would look even worse if he realized what all the empty food containers meant. And without any proof of Paris being there he might not even believe that she and Jess weren't alone.

"So Jess just dropped this off huh? He set the food down and you were kicking him out right away?"

Rory cringed at his tone. She knew he was aiming to hurt but she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do to deflect his anger. They had fought before, it wasn't something strange and unusual for them, but they had never had a big fight except for their break up.

"Oh well-" there wasn't any way of explaining it.

"Not even you put food away that fast."

At this point she couldn't see any way around the truth. Dean was barely even listening to the few words she had attempted to say to him.

"Okay so he didn't just drop it off…"

"You told me you were doing laundry tonight. You told me you wanted to be alone. But it was all a lie wasn't it, you just wanted to spend time alone with that, that-" He said as if she had committed some horindous crime.

"No!" she exclaimed needing him to know she hadn't deliberately changed her plans for the evening.

"I should have seen this coming. Damn it." He spat out as if she had been in the company of the devil.

"Paris came by and we were studying, and then Jess showed up with food and they both ate with me." She tried to help the situation.

"Is Paris invisible now?"

"She left just after you called." Rory barely said realizing how lame it sounded.

"How convenient." He yelled, towering over her.

"Dean." she said near tears.

"Jess, Rory!"

"I… well… I swear I didn't…" she couldn't even think of words to finish her sentence.

Dean was leaning over her making her feel two inches tall. She always felt little around him but she had never felt so _small._

"You didn't what? You didn't know he was coming over?" Dean nearly spat at her he was holding back a laugh.

"I didn't." she tried to yell back but she couldn't find her voice.

"And you also didn't know he was gonna stay right?" this time he really did laugh, yelling at her with venom in his voice.

"It just happened." She almost felt like crying, whether it was from frustration or the fear that was building inside of her as his eyes got darker she wasn't sure.

"How does that just happen? How does a person 'just happen' to invite themselves over for dinner?"

He wasn't looking for an actual answer. It seemed like he just wanted more things to yell at her about. As long as they had been dating she had never seen him so mad about something. Sure he constantly got angry about spending so much time at book sales, or watching movies he thought were dumb but he always at least pretended to be fine.

"Well he was… and then the diner was… and I." she could feel tears bubbling up in her eyes, something she did not want to happen. She desperately wished Paris had stayed, then maybe he would have held back some of his anger.

"And you what, what? Say something." He yelled at her as if daring her to try.

"Stop yelling." Her voice cracked as the tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"You totally lied to me." He yelled moving in closer to her, making her feel just a little unsafe.

"I didn't." she lied.

She knew she had lied, or fibbed, or left out the whole truth to things but she had meant to lie. She didn't want to hurt Dean. She had just been trying to protect him from… from what exactly? She questioned herself. She had so desperately been trying to hide everything that had happened that night, but why? Part of her couldn't help but wonder if it was because Dean was onto something. Was she just trying to protect him from her feelings for Jess, from the fact that being alone with him even for a few moments had made her happy?

Yes Jess had invited himself, but she hadn't fought him much on the subject. And she did make Paris stay as a chaperone... But until Dean had called she had had no intention of kicking Jess out. In fact she had been having a really good time.

"Turn the situation around Rory, how's it looking." She couldn't understand how he managed to be so intimidating when saying such casual sentences.

"It's looking complicated and I'm trying to explain it to you." She cried out.

"That's crap." He yelled reaching out for her arm.

Rory jumped away before he could grab ahold of her, staring at him like he had a third eye. She had seen him fight, she had heard him threaten someone's life but she had never assumed he would take any of his anger out on her. Sure he had only tried to grab at her but she didn't trust his level of judgment at the moment.

"Dean, calm down!" she yelled back at him once she caught her breath.

"God, don't tell me to calm down. I see the way you look at him Rory, and the way he looks at you. Paris was never even here tonight was she? God, you lied to me!"

"Paris was here, she was here before Jess. He came to drop by food and there was a lot so the three of us ate. When you called Paris said she had to go."

"Just shut up Rory, stop lying to me."

"Don't tell me to shut up!" she yelled back at him.

"So you don't deny you're lying?"

"I am not lying!" Rory yelled as loud as she could.

Part of her felt uncomfortable, she was sure the neighbors would be able to hear them. Everyone knew her mom was gone for the night. They would assume she was fighting with Dean. She nearly expected the entire town to show up any minute to attack him for yelling at her.

"I love you, Rory!" he yelled out still in his angry tone.

Rory was stunned. She didn't know what she was supposed to say. He hadn't sounded in love when he screamed it in her face. He didn't sound like he even liked her a little. Yet, there he was yelling 'I love you' like it would solve their problems or stop the fight. Like he thought reminding her that he loved her would make her stop caring about Jess…

Caring about Jess… it hit her. She had been trying so hard to deny it all, to stay happy in her relationship but she couldn't just keep denying it. She cared about Jess, she wanted him to care about her too. She wanted to tell him she liked him and kiss him. She wanted to be locked away in some library with him for days just talking and reading together. She wanted to force him to watch bad movies and listen to how he could intelligently knock them. She could see herself making out with Jess. She didn't feel awkward thinking about going farther than a small kiss or two. It hit her hard, every emotion she had been trying to push away over the last few weeks.

"Dean, what am I supposed to say to that?" all of the anger from her voice gone.

Apparently that hadn't been the correct answer. Dean threw his arms up in the arm as he turned away and stormed back towards the front door. Rory chased after him following him as far as the porch stairs. She refused to run down the stairs and chase him through the grass, refused to play any further into the ridiculousness he was demonstrating.

"Dean, stop. You're my boyfriend, doesn't that mean you should trust me?"

She knew it was an awful thing to ask of him, especially knowing that she did care for Jess in the way he feared. But she couldn't believe Dean was just going to run away without another word.

"I'll put it this way. I _should_ trust you, and I _am_ your boyfriend."

Rory was silenced. All of the hatred and malice in his voice had been enough to knock her from her feet. She watched as he walked away from the house and all she could do was sink into the porch stairs and burying her head in her hands. The night had started off so wonderfully and everything had fallen apart.

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting on the stairs when she heard someone walk up behind her. She could tell that she was freezing from not wearing a coat, and that her toes were practically numb but the actual time length was a mystery to her.

She felt the coat hit her shoulders before anything else. She didn't even want to look up and see who was there. She knew it wasn't Dean, and anyone who was standing beside her had defiantly heard their fight. It was embarrassing enough knowing that people could hear but someone actually coming and acknowledging it was worse.

"He's a jerk."

Rory looked up at the voice. She hadn't expected Jess to still be anywhere near her house. He had left ages ago, or that's what she had assumed. She watched as he sat down next to her and put his right arm around her shoulders. She tried to quickly wipe under her eyes and nose, knowing that she must look a mess after the crying she had been doing since Dean stormed off.

"You don't know the real him." She tried to defend.

"No, I do Rory. I see this jock-head guy at school who can barely pass his classes, not because he just doesn't care but because he is literally too unintelligent. I see him yell and be possessive about everything in his life, and treat you like you're an object. You're not some prize to be won, Rory."

"Gee thanks." She said trying to hold back more tears.

It was hard enough to be dumped but to hear Jess practical spell it out for her that he wasn't interested nearly broke her heart. Anything Dean had left untouched as he stomped all over her Jess was doing a good job of ruining.

"That's not what I mean. You're a human being, Rory. You are so much more than an object, you are amazing. And any guy would be lucky to even just be your friend."

She wasn't sure what to say. She had never heard him say so many words if he wasn't talking about a book. It was odd knowing that they were sitting on her porch talking about how wonderful she was. It took her until then to realize she had melted into his embrace, he head was resting peacefully on his shoulder and she had turned her body in towards his. If she hadn't just been dumped and if her eyes were red and puffy it might have made a cute picture.

Jess turned his head placing a small kiss on her forehead. It was sweet and gentle, not overly romantic but enough so that she felt the need to question the action. Jess seemed almost out of character that night. She wasn't used to such an overly nice side of him. Even when he was nice to her he still managed to be a sarcastic pain in the ass.

"Why…?" she asked not even able to form the words.

"Because I don't want to come in second."

Roy looked up at him, pulling away from their embrace slightly. It took her a moment to understand the words fully and process them. She hadn't been expecting him to say anything like that. Sure he had hardly hidden his flirting, but she had chalked most of that up to him just annoying Dean. Now Dean wasn't in the picture…

Rory locked eyes with him, feeling a safeness she hadn't felt in a long time. She didn't feel the need to hide any part of her or pretend to like things she didn't like. She could say what she wanted, or do what she wanted. She was sure he'd tell her if she was being a pain in the ass or if she was acting stupid but he would do it while still letting her make up her own mind about things.

She wasn't sure when she put her hand on his cheek but as she looked at his face she could see her thumb moving back and forth across his skin. She smiled at him, knowing this time that they had shared a moment. Knowing that they would share quite a few more.

Her mother wouldn't be happy. Hell she and Jess might be the only ones in town who were. But they would be able to debate with Paris and each other. He could argue with her about how she drank her coffee after school in the diner every day. She would yell at him to stop working so much and go see a movie with her. It all seemed like it had the possibility of being great. Nowhere near perfect, but real. And in that moment real seemed pretty damn great.

"Jess." She said in a breathy voice.

Whatever she was going to say she never got the chance to. Jess leaned forward, pushing his arms behind her back almost pinning her to the stair railing behind her. His lips collided with hers in a passionate fury. She was fighting for breath and dominance as he moved his lips from her lips to her neck. They had only been kissing for a moment but her chest was already heaving for air. His lips found hers once again and this time his tongue licked at her bottom lips begging for permission. She opened her mouth just enough for their tongues to collide.

By the time the kiss was over she was completely winded, and red in the face. Jess looked at her with a guilty smile kissing her forehead as he pulled away.

"Sorry, got carried away."

She just laughed slightly. She knew she should be more upset. She and Dean had barely been broken up at all but she couldn't help but feel like something had gone absolutely right with the night. It was this feeling that this wasn't how things were supposed to go, that something was wrong about how everything happened. But she couldn't be gladder with how things turned out.

Jess wrapped his arm around her once again, warming her up from the loss of his jacket on her shoulders. They sat staring out at the yard in silence for what felt like a lifetime. The silence just resting with them comfortably. It was the start of something, neither of them could be sure where it might go but Rory was more than happy to let it play out however it may.

* * *

**A.N.:** So what will happen next for the young Gilmore? Will the kiss change things? Is Dean really out of the picture? What will her mother have to say about the whole thing?

Let me know what you thought! Until next time...


End file.
